Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S 1V4, Canada.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
BMC Prim Care. 2024 Mar 14;25(1):85. doi: 10.1186/s12875-024-02327-2.
Primary health care (PHC) has historically led and implemented successful immunization programs, driven by strong relationships with patients and communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada began its vaccination strategy with mass immunizations that later included local efforts with PHC providers. This study seeks to understand how PHC contributed to the different phases of the COVID-19 vaccination rollouts in Ontario, Canada's most populous province.
We conducted a descriptive qualitative study with focus groups consisting of PHC providers, administrators, and staff in Ontario. Eight focus groups were held with 39 participants representing geographic diversity across the six Ontario Health regions. Participants reflected a diverse range of clinical, administrative, and leadership roles. Each focus group was audio-recorded and transcribed with transcriptions analyzed using thematic analysis.
With respect to understanding PHC teams' participation in the different phases of the COVID-19 vaccination rollouts, we identified five themes: (i) supporting long-term care, (ii) providing leadership in mass vaccinations, (iii) integrating vaccinations in PHC practice sites, (iv) reaching those in need through outreach activities; and (v) PHC's contributions being under-recognized.
PHC was instrumental in supporting COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario, Canada across all phases of the rollout. The flexibility and adaptability of PHC allowed teams to participate in both large-scale and small-scale vaccination efforts.
初级卫生保健（PHC）一直以来通过与患者和社区的紧密关系引领并实施了成功的免疫计划。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，加拿大开始了大规模免疫接种的疫苗接种策略，后来包括 PHC 提供者的当地努力。本研究旨在了解 PHC 如何为加拿大人口最多的安大略省 COVID-19 疫苗接种推出的不同阶段做出贡献。
我们进行了一项描述性定性研究，采用焦点小组的形式，参与者为安大略省的 PHC 提供者、管理人员和工作人员。在安大略省的六个卫生区域中，我们进行了八次焦点小组讨论，共有 39 名参与者，代表了地域多样性。参与者反映了广泛的临床、行政和领导角色。每个焦点小组都进行了录音和转录，并使用主题分析对转录进行分析。
关于了解 PHC 团队在 COVID-19 疫苗接种推出的不同阶段的参与情况，我们确定了五个主题：（i）支持长期护理，（ii）在大规模疫苗接种中提供领导，（iii）将疫苗接种纳入 PHC 实践场所，（iv）通过外展活动接触有需要的人；以及（v）PHC 的贡献未得到充分认可。
PHC 在安大略省 COVID-19 疫苗接种的所有推出阶段都发挥了重要作用。PHC 的灵活性和适应性使团队能够参与大规模和小规模的疫苗接种工作。
